Tennis Hits the Books
These days I am spending a lot of time in various forms of video conferencing. I suspect that we all are. In the early days of the COVID-19 shut down, it was generally regarded as clever to change the background in Zoom to make it appear that meeting participants were in exotic and fanciful locations. As time has passed, that practice is becoming passé.
I recently attended a virtual conference for “Women in Defense” that featured a short course on projecting the best image during video conferencing. Camera height, lighting, and various considerations of the setting were all discussed. The unanticipated critical skill in 2020 is ensuring that that what appears on camera during a video conference is styled to project the desired image.
It was pre-COVID-19, but the following viral clip is a great example of an intentional effort to project the desired image. An expert interviewee was hilariously interrupted by his child in the BBS. If the video is scrutinized closely enough, which this one was by dint of the fact that it went viral, it is apparent that setting is a bedroom rather than an office. However, the map, bookshelves, and books stacked on the bed are all elements designed to make the room appear to be an office at first glance.
Since the COVID-19 shutdown, I have scrutinized the bookshelves appearing on video for countless executives and leaders in my industry. My assumption is that the books and accent pieces that appear on those videos were carefully curated to project an image or to send a message. Consequently, from the first moments that Pam Shriver appeared on screen working remotely on coverage of the US Open, I have been attempting to decipher what books appear behind her.
Pam recently discussed her home studio set up on episode 273j of the “No Challenges Remaining” podcast. She indicated that she is in a tiny home office space that is only accessible from her bedroom. That puts a double set of doors between Pam and her three children, which are all at currently home and attending school virtually. In other words, lessons learned from the viral BBS interview video. She also confirmed that her bookshelf and memorabilia was intentionally arranged during the podcast.
Helene Elliott has enumerated some of the contents in a recent column in the LA Times.
“The shelves in the background of her ESPN reports hold an eclectic mix of books about the Baltimore Orioles — she’s a member of the team’s limited partnership group — Pushkin poetry and plays, rare editions of works by Mark Twain and Victor Hugo, books on parenting, books by the late sportswriter Frank DeFord, and the Baltimore-centered novels of author Anne Tyler. Shriver also set up an assortment of memorabilia from her five U.S. Open doubles titles and her singles runner-up finish in 1978.”
Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, September 7, 2020
There are a lot of tennis books in the mix. I created a list at the tail end of this post enumerating my identification of the books I could decipher. There are guesses, blanks, and more likely than not, a few errors. As an example Shriver’s own book “Passing Shots” is said to be present, but I don’t see it.
I have always been a fan of Pam Shriver. As if any additional evidence of my nerdiness is necessary, I even once dressed up as her on Halloween while she was at the height of her playing career. As an adult, I really enjoy her commentary. Her brand of sideline reporting takes a lot of hustle and quick insight. I am interested in any book that she is interested in. Well, almost… I am probably going to take a pass on Pushkin and the Baltimore Orioles.
- “2020 U.S. Open Day 9 – Pam Shriver’s Distance Learning,” No Challenges Remaining Podcast, Episode 273j, September 9, 2020.
- “Column: Pam Shriver couldn’t make it to the U.S. Open this year, so ESPN brought it to her,” Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, September 7, 2020.
Pam Shriver’s Bookshelf
Left Column Top To Bottom
- The Singles Game, Lauren Weisberger (Sports Fictional Novel)
- Digging to America, Anne Tyler
- Blue Book, Maybe by Harry Hopman?
- Billie Jean King, maybe the version by Frank Deford?
- Tiger Woods, Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian
- Neurotribes, Steve Silberman
- (Maybe) The Concise History of Tennis, Karoly Mazak (There are no discernible markings so this is a guess based on the dimensions of the book and other titles in the collection. Another candidate was the Basset System, but I think that it is thicker than the one on the shelf.)
- Ways of Grace, James Blake
- US Open Unmatched, Time-Life Books
- Homesick and Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child Grow, Michael Thompson
- Over Time, Frank Deford
- Burgundy Book
- Driven, by ????
- Yellow Book
Middle Column Top to Bottom
- The Rivals, Johnette Howard
- Wimbledon… no clue beyond that.
- Pressure is a Privilege, Billie Jean King
- The Power of Different, Gail Saltz
- Tennis a Cultural History, Heiner Gillmeister
- The (Castle?) of Baltimore
- Blue Book
- Thick Green/Gold Book
- Tan Book
- Burgundy Book
- Random House Dictionary
Right Column Top To Bottom
- Gold Book
- Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell
- Pushkin, looks to be an anthology of poems
- Macci Magic: Extracting Greatness from Yourself and Others, Rick Macci and Andy Roddick
- 2012 WTA Media Guide
- My Aces, My Faults, Nick Bollateri
- Strong, maybe the book by Kara Goucher
- Black Book
- 100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly
- The Orioles Encyclopedia: A Half Century of History and Highlights, Michael Gesker
Teresa, now all you need is a tennis themed backdrop curtain with sponsors brands. The pros do it, so design and be creative with your look…fun.
An interesting topic this morning about Pam Shriver’s bookshelf. I’m often aware of background that people use during interviews, etc…
Yep. I used to think I needed to clean my entire house. Now I know that only the narrow swath that appears on my Zoom camera matters.